Holy hell, what do we have here cats n’ creeps? Why I do believe it’s an alien anthology of the terror kind!
Following a coda, titled Pinnacles (written and directed by Stephen J. Escobar), that tells the story of Eric (Baker Chase Powell), a young dude getting his close encounter on in the middle of the desert; we are introduced to Xenophobia‘s wrap around (also written and directed by Escobar) featuring a support group for abductees relating their various diabolic dealings with sinister space-men through stories that include:
First up we get Doomsday (written and directed by special effects genius Joe Castro); the tale of comely Becky (Kristen Renton) and her man Harry (Nick Principe of The FP and Chromeskull fame) who go camping in the woods and discover they are not alone in that freaky forest as one hell of a fucked up alien roams those worlds as well… seriously this thing has two faces, an emaciated body, screams like a baby in distress, and has a crystal that shows you images of the end of the world (sounds like some of my ex-ghoul friends to be honest… ).
This segment is an absolute blast, with an almost ’70’s style drive-in vibe (I could see a feature length version of this playing along side Laserblast easily) that features insanely original creature design, fun horror comic book style subject matter, and strong performances from Renton and Principe.
Next we get Star Child, a yarn spun by Karen (the legendary Brinke Stevens) about her missing daughter Cynthia (Lisa M. Garcia) who takes a job as a babysitter only to find the house besieged by an alien critter that would give Lovecraft a wet dream.
There’s some solid suspense present in this segment, as well as another fangtastic creature design (and some shocking images as well), and while it doesn’t reach the lunatic heights of the first segment, Star Child is incredibly entertaining in it’s own right.
Last up comes The Sullivan House (written and directed by Thomas J. Churchill) which begins with some take-charge ladies putting an ass-whipping upon suspected wife-beater Edgar (Mark Hoadley), who swears his wife has been replaced by an alien being. Naturally everyone thinks Edgar is as full of shit as a rather small bag in an elephant turd collecting contest. Bot, of course he is telling the truth and soon things devolve into a blood orgy attended by nightmares from beyond the stars.
Filled with solid, emotion-packed acting, a great riff on The Thing, and oh so much ooey-gooey, gore and outrageously awesome creatures, The Sullivan House is a real showstopper of a segment, and really hits a horror home-run, followed by a damn nifty conclusion to our wrap around!
If you are looking for a gore-drenched, creature packed fright flick that knows how to have some fun with standard alien abduction tropes you absolutely need to slap your putrid peepers on Xenophobia post-haste… and while they may not hear you scream in space, you can bet your ass they will in your living room!
